First Date
A/N: Dr. Evil says: "Jamal… Dewalt… a couple of bee-hatches, and a couple of chapters that don't follow the storyline of the game. Why not? Stick that in your blunt and smoke it. Yah. I said blunt. Meant to."
The group had gone through much since I last left you. After trekking through a tower, spelunking through a sewer, and competing in a fierce cooking contest and duking it out with the evil Kuwadora, they now found themselves headed home from SimaFort with a new companion, Ekaru Hoppe De Pe Jean.
"I ask you, is it a far walk to your home?" Jean inquired.
"Well, we have to cross to the east land and go over the mountains. It's about a half day's walk."
"You'd never make it without me!" Sten gloated. "Praise me! Praise me!"
Katt smacked him. "You wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for us! So praise us, praise us!"
Sten quieted down. "Consider yourself praised, boss."
Jean chuckled. "You fight like animals. I think I will enjoy being with all of you."
"Good thing." Ryu muttered. "The last thing we need is another nasty person. Right Nina?"
"Shut up." Nina snapped. "I'm not nasty, I'm just not accustomed to dealing with such slobs."
Ryu slipped his hand into Katt's as they walked.
And so it was that they came back to Coursair on the way back home. With their hideout now a town, they figured they should seek out decent people to work there.
They were getting a soda at the Coursair pub when Ryu noticed a man sitting at a table, staring into a beer. He looked down in the dumps.
"Excuse me a second," Ryu said to his friends, then he went and sat down across from the man. "Hi. I'm Ryu."
"And I'm depressed." the man responded.
"What's wrong?"
"Ah, my restaurant in FarmTown got shut down… now I've got no home and no job. If I could just get ONE more chance to open a diner…"
"What's your name?" Ryu interrupted.
"Phil."
"Phil, I hereby allow you to open a diner in my new town." Ryu declared proudly. Phil started.
"You mean it? Really? No way!"
"Way. In fact, you can go get started right now!"
Phil didn't have to be told twice. With many thanks to Ryu, he ran from the pub, away to Mt. Fubi and beyond.
"Aren't we Mr. Generous," Rand said with a smile. "Don't you have any spite for anyone?"
"People make themselves my enemies," Ryu said casually. "Until then, I'm everybody's friend."
Rand just shook his head. "Why can't there be more people like you in the world?"
"I only need one Ryu in the world," Katt said with a sigh, but caught herself, as a correct interpretation of that statement could give away the "secret." Luckily, nobody guessed what she meant.
"Well, guys, let's go home." Ryu said.
And so it was that they arrived back in Township to find a shiny new diner awaiting them! Ryu cast a thoughtful eye at it.
"Hummm…"
"What's up, Ryu?" Rand asked.
"Huh? Oh.. I was just wondering why Capcom has us say 'hum' instead of 'hmm' all the time… Yeah."
Rand looked at him as if he had just sprouted pterodactyl wings and turned purple.
After the group had settled into the living room for the evening, Ryu motioned for Katt to come in the hallway.
"Have you had dinner yet?" he asked.
She patted her stomach. "Nope. I'm starving!"
He looked around to make sure nobody was there. "Well… you wanna go grab something at the new diner?"
She smiled. "You mean a date? Sure!"
He grinned. "Awesome! This could very well be the start of something special."
"Think so?"
"Maybe. We'll just tell them we're going to get some air."
"Kay."
And so they went back into the living room. "Katt and I are going to explore the town," Ryu said.
"At night?" Nina asked, looking up from her YM magazine.
"Yeah."
"If you go to the potion shop, get me an antidote. I'm getting a cold." Sten said, not looking away from Super Smash Bros. Melee, where he was kicking Jean's ass.
"Ow!" Jean said, "It's impolite to hurt a prince's character!"
After they made sure they weren't being watched, Ryu and Katt, holding hands, walked into the new diner. Despite the fact that it had just been built two hours ago, it was already bustling with activity.
"Hey you guys!" Phil called from behind the counter, "Welcome! I was expecting you! Have a seat, I'll be right with ya!"
And so Ryu and Katt sat across from each other, preparing to experience their very first date.
Little did Katt and Ryu know that they had, in fact, been followed, by Nina and everyone else in the group. At Nina's urging, they had decided it was best to find out what those two were really up to.
"Shh… Hide here." Nina whispered, motioning for them to hide at the side of the diner.
"How are we going to hear them?" Bow asked, scratching his head.
Nina smiled, and held up a salt shaker. "I snatched this from the Coursair pub. Watch." She peeked in through the window, and pointed her finger at the salt shaker on Ryu's table. It glowed for a minute, and faded. Then, as if out of nowhere, their whole conversation began coming out of Nina's salt shaker!
"I turned them into a communication system." she said casually. "Now let's find out the truth." And so they listened.
"So have you still been thinking about it?" Ryu asked as they waited for their food.
"About what?" Katt asked.
"You know… the other day… remember?"
"Oh… that…" she said with a giggle. "Well, actually, I have been thinking about it quite a bit."
"Do tell."
"Yep." Her tail swished across the seat. "When you kissed me, it… made me feel weird."
"What do you mean? Like, bad weird?"
"No, not bad… just a feeling I've never felt before. It made me feel special."
Ryu was silent for a few moments. Finally, he spoke. "Katt… you truly are special to me. I never want you to forget that. Even from when we first met that day in the Coliseum, there was no mistaking your beauty, or your charm, or your…"
"All right, all right, Mr. Smooth talker," she said with a grin. "So you feel the same way?"
Ryu reached across the table and took her hand. "Yes, I do. I have the exact same feeling."
Katt became very serious. "Is it love, Ryu? Are you in love with me… as…" she blushed furiously.
"Say it, Katt." Ryu said softly. "Don't be afraid. We're all alone."
Katt trembled, but spoke. "Are you in love with me, as I am with you?"
There was a very very long moment of silence. Ryu gazed into Katt's beautiful green eyes. "Yes. I love you Katt."
Katt started to cry softly. "And I love you… Ryu."
Ryu raised his glass. "A toast, then. To love!"
Katt smiled. "To love!"
Nina's face darkened as she listened. The others didn't seem to think much of it, and in fact seemed happy for the brat. Only Nina was angry. When that boy had saved her from Joker, she was so struck by how handsome he was, that she wanted him on the spot. He didn't seem to get the hint. But now this! This could not be allowed!
"Hey, they're coming out!" Sten cried. Indeed, the pair had finished their dinner and were leaving.
"Hide over here," Nina commanded. "We'll make sure they see us."
It was very dark as Ryu and Katt walked hand in hand back to the house. They paused at the doorway.
"Well, Mr. Bateson," Katt said with a smile, "I want to thank you for a wonderful evening."
He brushed his hand across her face. "And how are you going to thank me?"
"Like this…"
Their lips came together again, and she slipped her arms around his neck as the kiss became more passionate. This was their moment, when nobody would see them.
"Mmm…" she said as he pulled back, "Don't stop…"
But just as Ryu went to kiss her again, a bright flash of lightning lit up the sky, and Ryu spun to see the illuminated silhouettes of his friends standing outside the house.
Ryu quickly tried to regain his composure. "Uhh… guys! What… what are you doing out here… so late?"
"Relax, buddy," Bow said, stepping forward, "Nothing's wrong. We just wanted to tell you that we're happy for you."
Jean began to sing. "Ahh, there is love in the air tonight…"
Nina came forward, all smiles. "Don't worry about it," she said. "We just came out to buy some potions for Sten's cold, and we saw you guys kissing, so we put the pieces together."
"You're not mad?" Katt asked in astonishment.
Nina smiled again. "Why would I be? Come on, let's get inside, it's freezing!"
As she watched Ryu and Katt lead each other into the house like a pair of newlyweds, Nina's smile disappeared. She'd let them have their fun for now. But she was a princess. And as a princess, she was never denied what she desired. Ryu would be hers. Period.
